If he predicted the Kennedy assassinations, did he predict the end of the World Trade Center?
If he predicted the assassination of Pope John Paul I, can he predict the end of the world?
These questions are the type that many people have been asking themselves lately. Is Nostradamus a man whose prophecies can be trusted?
His predictions have lately been eerily accurate and have left some remnants in the minds of many University of Memphis students. The ambiguity of his thoughts has made scholars interpret his quatrains with double meanings.
In century six, quatrain 37, it is assumed that Nostradamus predicts the end of the life of John F. Kennedy. The quatrain is as follows: “The ancient work will be accomplished, And from the roof evil ruin will fall on the great man, They will accuse the innocent, being dead, of the deed, The guilty one is hidden in the misty copse.”
There has been much controversy over who killed President Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald, who was assumed to be the assassin, may not have been the one to commit the crime, according to the teachings of Nostradamus.
Born December 14, 1503 as Michel de Nostradame, Nostradamus lived a life that was, in some sense, fulfilling. He was an astrologer, a historian and a self-proclaimed prophet.
According to Morgana’s Observatory, an online account of the life and prophecies of Nostradamus, his most famous book, “The Centuries,” was begun in 1554 and has remained in print for more than 400 years.
|
“I don’t believe in the predictions because my religion teaches me that God is the only one who knows what the future will bring.” — Hawani Keskessa sophomore student |
This book, containing ten volumes of 100 quatrains, consisted of prophecies in poetic forms that predicted events from the past, and, if translated a certain way, predict events of the future.
On September 29, 1978, Pope John Paul I was found dead in his bed with all key evidence missing from the room, according to the author of “The New Revelations,” John Hogue. Century 6, quatrain 65 reads as follows: “When the sepulcher of the great Roman is found, The day after a Pope shall be elected, The Senate (Conclave) will not approve of him, His blood is poisoned in the sacred chalice.”
The prediction that has many people talking is that of the World Trade Center.
Century six, quatrain 97 states the prediction of the attacks on the World Trade Center. “The sky will burn at forty-five degrees latitude, Fire approaches the great new city, Immediately a huge scattered flame leaps up, When someone will want to test the Normans.”
New York City’s latitude is about 40.7 and fire burns upwards. Can this prediction be taken literally?
“I don’t believe in the predictions because my religion teaches me that God is the only one who knows what the future will bring,” said Haweni Keskessa, a 20-year-old sophomore.
Though some of his predictions have been valid, not all of the visions that Nostradamus had have been true. He has suggested that an attack on America will take place in 1999 and that has not happened. He also predicted that China would rise against the U.S. and take over. That has not happened, either.
“I don’t put any faith in that kind of thing,” said Maurice Crouse, a history professor at the U of M. “There could be some parallels, but I don’t think it is valid.”
Some University of Memphis students have had mixed reactions on the topic of prophecies and Nostradamus.
“I heard the Nostradamus prediction, but I don’t believe it,” said Nick Cook, a junior economics major. “I heard a Bible prophecy of the apocalypse that talks about the four-headed horsemen (four planes), the seven-headed dragon (seven Middle-Eastern countries) and the world uniting against one common enemy (terrorism).”
Nostradamus is not the only person who has predicted the future. Many students on campus at the U of M have come up with some conclusions of their own for the future.
“I think there is a possibility for war,” Keskessa said. “I hope it doesn’t happen.”
Steve Cross, a senior computer science major, said, “I think Afghanistan will turn him (Osama Bin Laden) over.”
Not only are there Nostradamus predictions, student predictions and biblical references to the apocalypse, but unusual number sequences have also been determined relating to the annihilation of the World Trade Center.
According to the Snopes website, an impressive array of 2s shows that patterns can be made from anything. The date of the attack was 9/11, a difference of 2. The World Trade Center has 2 towers. 2 airplanes attacked the World Trade Center. Each airplane has 2 wings. The first airplane that hit the tower was Flight 11. 1+1=2.
These are just a few examples of the many different patterns containing the number 2 and referring to the World Trade Center.
“I think it’s intriguing that someone can interpret those number sequences,” Keskessa said.
The sayings of Nostradamus or any number sequence are meant for individuals to evaluate for themselves and to form their own opinion. It may never be known if prophecies can be true or if they were true purely out of luck.
